Term Sheet -- Friday, February 10

ET CETERA

Deal: Podium, an enterprise software startup, is working with investment bank Houlihan Lokey to raise a large new round of funding, Term Sheet has learned. The company seeks around $20 million to $25 million at a pre-money valuation of around $100 million. The company declined to comment.

Outside of participating in Y Combinator’s winter 2016 batch, the Utah-based startup has kept a low profile in Silicon Valley. For the last several months, Podium has made the rounds on Sand Hill road in what venture investors describe as an “unconventional” fundraise. The company asked firms to submit a formal “indication of interest” (IOI) before beginning due diligence, and used an online data room. One investor described it as more akin to a private equity deal or M&A auction than venture fundraising, which tends to be less formal. Podium recently narrowed down its fundraising process and will finalize the deal soon.

Podium’s software allows businesses to collect and manage online reviews. Founded in 2014, it has only raised a small amount of seed funding from Peak Ventures of Provo, Utah, and it boasts 30,000 customers. Now the company’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) is between $10 million and $15 million, a source familiar with the situation said.

Investors note the company’s revenue has “velocity,” meaning it is growing quickly, especially in the automotive market. One of its key features allows customers to text customers after they leave a store or dealership. Podium is different from Podium Data, a Boston-area startup.

Coming to terms: The Honest Company is weighing whether to replace its CEO and co-founder Brian Lee, according to Jason Del Rey of Recode. Lee provided some detail on why The Honest Company’s sale talks with Unilever fell through: “We couldn’t come to a correct structure and correct value and correct partnership.” That led him to realize “what it takes to become a world-class CPG organization with world-class products.”

In other words, The Honest Company isn’t pitching itself as a tech startup anymore. It’s a big about-face from December, when Lee told Fortune’s Beth Kowitt, “Technology is in our DNA.” When pressed, Lee said, “We don’t really think of ourselves as either. We’re a way of life.”

Seventh Generation, the company Unilever bought instead of The Honest Company, has been operating as a CPG organization for decades. As Beth noted:

Honest took in tech-level funding—$228 million in five years, while Seventh Generation raised less than $100 million in its nearly 30-year history. Honest also staffed up like a startup. It has about three times as many employees as Seventh Generation, despite having roughly the same level of sales. Maybe staffing and funding wouldn’t matter quite so much if the home care category wasn’t such a low-margin one.

A few months after settling with his former employer, BamBrogan has unveiled his new hyperloop company in L.A. called Arrivo. In an interview with my colleague Kirsten Korosec, BamBrogram says Arrivo plans to establish two test sites, one outside of the U.S., and will have revenue-generating projects within three years. The company already has “initial funding in place” but will not share any details on the source or the amount of that funding. (P.S. Term Sheet accepts anonymous tips.)

Snapshot: Yesterday Snap updated its S-1 filing with a few details, including the fact that board member Joanna Coles is getting paid more than the initial filing showed.

The company also updated sections on shareholder information rights (we common people have them, even though we can’t vote on said information!) and on its slowing user growth (blame lower-engagement regions outside of the U.S. and Europe). Those were two of the biggest red flags the media focused on besides Snap’s lack of profits. This update shows that Snap, or at least Snap’s bankers, are paying close attention to how the world reacted. I’ve said it before, but I’ll keep repeating it: For IPOs, narrative is king.

Layoff watch: Austin marketing technology startup Spredfast has laid off 47 employees and closed its Madison, Wisc. office. The employees joined the startup via the acquisition of Shoutlet. Xconomy first reported on an internal memo announcing the news. Spredfast is backed by $114 million in funding from Austin Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, OpenView, and Riverwood Capital. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

• HeadBox, a UK digital marketplace for spaces, has raised £1.4 million ($1.7 million) in funding from angel investors.

Advertisement

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• Blackstone Group has agreed to acquire Aon’s (NYSE:AON) technology-enabled HR platform, currently part of Aon Hewitt, for $4.8 billion, $500 million of which is based on future performance. Read more at Fortune.

• Pelican Energy Partners, has made a growth equity investment in Quinn Artificial Lift Services, a Red Deer, Alberta, manufacturer of downhole rod pumps and components and provider of aftermarket repair services to the oil and gas industry. Terms were not disclosed.

• Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund is considering a bid for Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: SIX) according to Bloomberg. Read more.

Advertisement

OTHER DEALS

• Carlsberg is considering a bid for a 20% stake in Tsingtao Brewery, a Chinese beer maker owned by Asahi Group Holdings, according to Bloomberg. Read more.

• Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) is offering 2 euros per share for remaining shares in Euro Disney. The company recently bought 9% of the business from Price Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holdings, increasing its holding to 85.7% from 76.7%. Read more.

Advertisement

IPOS

• Foundation Building Materials (NYSE: FBM) priced of its IPO of 12 million shares (with the option to sell an additional 1.9 million) at $14 per share. The company is owned by Lone Star Funds.

• Airbnb is close to acquiring Luxury Retreats, a Canadian travel booking company, for under $300 million, according to Bloomberg. (TechCrunch values the deal at around $200 million). Luxury Retreats raised $16 million in VC funding from iNovia Capital. Read more.

• Palamon Capital Partners sold SARquavitae, a provider of elderly care services in Span, for for 550 million euros ($584 million).

Advertisement

FIRMS + FUNDS

• Greycroft has raised $250 million for its second growth equity fund, Greycroft Growth II.

• Paine & Partners is now Paine Schwartz Partners. Dexter Paine will remain chairman. Former president Kevin Schwartz is now CEO.

• Carlyle Group is planning to raise a its third financial-services-focused buyout fund, according to the Wall Street Journal. Carlyle Global Financial Services Partners II LP, a 2014 vintage, had $1 billion in commitments and was 80% invested as of Dec. 31. Read more.

• Aqua Capital has raised $300 million for its second South American agro-business fund, according to the Wall Street Journal. The fund had a $250 million target. Read more. (Subscription required.)